Three-pointer lifts Paine women over Albany State

Upton came up with a huge defensive stop and Glenn drilled a 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining as Paine stopped a three-game losing streak with a 54-52 dramatic win over Albany State Thursday night.

Paine (7-3, 2-1 in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) led for the majority of the game but Albany State came back and took a 52-51 lead with one minute remaining on a layup by center Aleshia Cone.

Cone, a senior from Thomasville, Ga., led Albany State with 27 points and seven rebounds. She was 13 of 18 from the field.

Albany State (11-5, 4-3 in SIAC) was holding onto that lead with less than 30 seconds left in the contest when Upton made a tremendous defensive play. She jumped in front of Cone and stole the ball to give Paine a chance to win.

"She was killing us inside," Upton said. "I knew they would try to lob it inside to her so I just jumped up as high as I could and grabbed it and threw it to one of our guards."

Glenn capitalized when she drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing to give the Lady Lions a 54-52 lead with 11 seconds remaining in the game.

"I was nervous, but the adrenaline was pumping so hard," Glenn said. "Man, I just wanted to win this game. This was our game."

Paine survived when Exzandra Wilson and Cone missed shots in the paint in the closing seconds.

The game was special for Paine coach Carol Washington, who played under Albany State coach Robert Skinner when she was a player at Paine.

"I told them even if they don't get another one (a win), get this one," Washington said.